Area academics to call for restorative justice over punishment in Chicago Public Schools on April 11

Posted: 03/30/2012

Education professors from all over the Chicago area are raising concerns about the way local schools are responding to violence with the release of a new report and a formal summit on school safety being held April 11 at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Members of Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education (CReATE) will release a policy report entitled “Increasing Safety through Restorative Justice: Making Schools Safe for Girls and LGBTQ Students in Chicago’s Public Schools” and hold a panel discussion at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 11 in Roosevelt University’s 10th floor library, 430 S. Michigan Ave.

The public is invited to attend the event that will explore ways to increase school safety, particularly in light of increasing issues of bullying, gay bashing and sexual harassment.

“Our goal is to shift the disciplinary policy at CPS away from suspending or expelling students, which are proven not to work,” said Leslie Rebecca Bloom, associate professor of educational leadership and women’s and gender studies at Roosevelt and a member of the group’s restorative-justice research team.

A lively panel discussion, being moderated by Chicago Sun Times columnist and ABC 7 Chicago political analyst Laura S. Washington, will include speakers from CReATE, Blocks Together Youth, Community Organizing and Family Issues, the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union.

Sponsors of the event include: Roosevelt University’s Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation, the colleges of Education and Arts and Sciences and the University’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program; Northeastern Illinois University’s College of Education; DePaul University’s College of Education, Department of Leadership, Language and Curriculum Studies and Blue for Peace Project; Concordia University Chicago College of Graduate and Innovative Programs; Loyola University Chicago; National-Louis University College of Education; University of Illinois Chicago, and the School of the Art Institute Department of Art Education.

Chicago 430 S. Michigan Ave.Chicago, IL 60605(312) 341-3500 Directions & Maps

Schaumburg 1400 N. Roosevelt Blvd.Schaumburg, IL 60173(847) 619-7300 Directions & Maps

Roosevelt Online http://www.roosevelt.edu/ruonline/